How to Interpret Giving Score and Engagement Score

This advanced guide provides a deep dive into the Giving and Engagement Scores, explaining what they measure, how percentiles work, and the specific factors that drive each score.

Use this guide when you need to understand why a specific constituent received their scores, benchmark scores across your donor base, or train development staff on AI-powered scoring.

Giving Score Explained

The Giving Score (displayed in green, range 1-99) is a percentile-based metric that ranks a constituent's likelihood and potential value of their next gift relative to your entire donor base.

What the Score Means: A Giving Score of 75 means that the constituent is in the top 25% of donors by predicted giving likelihood and value. A score of 25 means they're in the bottom 75%, suggesting lower predicted giving propensity.

Giving Score is calculated using these primary factors:

• Recency: Time elapsed since the constituent's last gift (more recent = higher score).
• Frequency: How often the constituent has given over the past 1-2 years.
• Monetary Value: The historical gift amount, including trends (increasing gifts boost score).
• Consistency: Whether the donor gives predictably (e.g., annual gifts vs. sporadic).
• Peer Benchmarking: How the constituent compares to similar donors in your database.
• Seasonal Patterns: Recognition of predictable giving cycles (holiday donors, annual gala attendees).

Engagement Score Explained

The Engagement Score (displayed in blue, range 1-99) is a percentile-based metric measuring how actively and frequently a constituent interacts with your organization.

What the Score Means: A Engagement Score of 85 indicates a highly engaged constituent in the top 15% of your audience by interaction frequency. A score of 20 suggests minimal engagement.

Engagement Score is calculated using these primary factors:

• Email Engagement: Opens, clicks, and unsubscribe behavior from email campaigns.
• Event Participation: Attendance at fundraising events, webinars, or in-person activities.
• Website Behavior: Page views, time spent on site, and content consumption patterns.
• Newsletter Interaction: Opens and reading habits for organization newsletters.
• Social Media Activity: Follows, likes, shares, and comments on organizational accounts.
• Volunteer Activity: Attendance at volunteer events and hours contributed.

Understanding Percentiles

Both Giving and Engagement Scores use percentile ranking, meaning each score reflects how a constituent ranks compared to all others:

• 99 = Top 1% of constituents (highest score).
• 75 = Top 25% of constituents.
• 50 = Median constituent (middle of your donor base).
• 25 = Bottom 75% (lower half).
• 1 = Bottom 1% (lowest score).

Percentiles are recalculated weekly as new data is added, so scores may shift slightly as your constituent base grows and behaviors change.

Score Combinations and What They Mean

High Giving + High Engagement (70+/70+): Ideal major gift prospects. These donors give regularly and stay actively involved. Prioritize for planned giving, leadership roles, and premium experiences.

High Giving + Low Engagement (70+/<40): Transactional donors. They give but aren't deeply engaged. Strategy: Re-engage through personalized stewardship and impact communications.

Low Giving + High Engagement (< 40/70+): Loyal supporters with upgrade potential. These constituents are engaged but give modestly. Strategy: Cultivation for larger gifts through proven engagement channels.

Low Giving + Low Engagement (<40/<40): Dormant or inactive constituents. Strategy: Win-back campaigns or segment for lapsed donor re-engagement.

Factors Affecting Giving Score

Understanding what drives Giving Score helps you strategically influence it:

• Recent gifts increase the score significantly (recency is weighted heavily).
• Increased gift amounts trigger score boosts, indicating readiness for major gift asks.
• Consistent giving (predictable patterns) increases score.
• Long gaps since last gift decrease the score.
• One-time gifts from new donors start with lower scores that increase with repeat giving.

Factors Affecting Engagement Score

Actions that boost Engagement Score:

• Opening emails consistently.
• Attending events regularly.
• Visiting your website frequently.
• Engaging on social media (likes, shares, comments).
• Participating in volunteer opportunities.
• Clicking links in email campaigns.

Actions that decrease Engagement Score:

• Unopened emails over consecutive campaigns.
• Unsubscribing from communications.
• No event attendance.
• Minimal website activity.

Score Limitations and Context

While Giving and Engagement Scores are powerful predictive tools, they're not infallible:

• Scores are based on historical data and may not account for recent life changes (job loss, major health event).
• New donors have limited data, so scores may be unreliable until they have 3-4 transactions.
• Corporate donors or grants may skew scores since AI can't distinguish institutional from personal giving.
• Always supplement scores with qualitative knowledge about constituents (relationships, capacity research, known plans).

Pro Tips

• Track score changes weekly to identify trends (improving or declining propensity).
• Use score combinations to segment donors for targeted strategies.
• Share scores with your team to align on priority constituents.